Tuesday Tidbits: Yanks in Europe, Goodson, and Friendly Rumors

Some news, notes, and rumors on the day:

Donovan, Howard go 90 in Everton Win

Landon Donovan and Tim Howard started and played 90 minutes in Everton's 2-1 Europa League victory over Sporting Lisbon.  The first leg of the Round of 32 tie started off very well for the Toffees, who took a 2-0 lead inside of 50 minutes, but a late penalty and red card were significant blows that could prove to be decisive.

Donovan did not have an overly remarkable game.  He drew a couple of fouls (including one that led to a yellow card) and had a few nice passes in the final third.  He also served in a nice ball on a set piece in the second half that nearly led to a 3-0 Everton lead.  Donovan did, however, have his fair share of stray passes, uncharacteristically acting as the source of several turnovers.  In the end, though, it was not a bad game for the LA Galaxy captain, and his team did not need to him to carry the load on this day.  Other offensive weapons like Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta, and Steven Pienaar did well in the attack, and Everton took advantage of their opportunities to open up a lead.

Were it not for the late consolation goal from Sporting, it would have been close to an ideal result for David Moyes and company.  But a take down inside the box in the 86th minute led to a PK, which Miguel Veloso converted after Tim Howard dove the wrong way.  It was the only blemish in an otherwise solid game for New Jersey native, who got a little help from his post to preserve the clean sheet in the first half.  The highlight of the day for Howard came in the 36th minute, when he made a fantastic reaction save to preserve the lead.
The two sides will meet up in Lisbon next week for the second leg, with a spot in the Round of 16 on the line.

Goodson to Join USMNT for El Salvador Friendly

The original group of players called into camp for the February 24th friendly against El Salvador in Tampa Bay was comprised solely of MLS players.  That will change when Norway-based Clarence Goodson joins the team after getting permission from his club team, IK Start, to do so.  Goodson has the inside track on the final center back spot for the World Cup roster after Jimmy Conrad's 17 minute fiasco and Chad Marshall's underwhelming performance against Honduras.

In limited time with the Yanks, Goodson has made his mark, scoring the lone US goal in last month's friendly and earning a spot on the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup All-Tournament team.  Another solid performance in Tampa coupled with a solid start to his club campaign might be all the former FC Dallas defender needs to book his ticket to South Africa.  Though the fourth CB spot isn't exactly the biggest talking point on a roster, it bears mentioning for an unpredictable one month tournament where depth is a huge asset.

World Cup Tune-up Friendly Rumors

Steven Goff of the Washington Post is reporting that the USSF is currently in negotiations with the University of Connecticut to use Rentschler Field, the site of a 2006 World Cup warm-up against Latvia.  The rumored opponent is the Czech Republic, who whipped the US 3-0 in the '06 group stage opener.  Philadelphia Eagles officials have also just announced that Lincoln Financial Field will play host to a send off match, with Euro 2008 semifinalists Turkey serving as the opponent.  As a Philadelphia native, I'm particularly happy about this, but not just for selfish reasons; I think Philadelphia is a strong market that the USSF has not yet utilized fully, and I think another strong showing from Philly fans (their first being the 2009 Gold Cup quarterfinal) could very well lead to a World Cup qualifier coming to the City of Brotherly Love sometime down the road. 

While some may be leery of an extremely arduous tune up schedule out of fear that a couple of losses will hurt the team's confidence heading into South Africa, I for one would welcome it.  Just look at the difference between the lead up 2002 and 2006, and how the USMNT fared in those respective tournaments.  In '02, they took on World Cup qualifiers Uruguay as well as the Netherlands, a perennial European power who missed out on the tournament, and CONCACAF foe Jamaica.  The Yanks suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Dutch, but it very well may have primed them for the tough competition that were to face in Korea/Japan.  In '06, meanwhile, the Yanks took on the likes of Latvia, Morocco, and Venezuela; not exactly world-beaters.  Fast forward a couple of weeks, and Bruce Arena and company were eliminated from the group stage with a record of 0-2-1.  Of course, a lot more goes into it than the lead up friendlies, but it worth noting considering the significantly different levels of success in the two tournaments.  It's for that reason that I'd rather our team be challenged in the weeks preceding the World Cup, so as to prepare them best for the rigors of facing a team like England. 

Feilhaber Ankle Injury

After further examining an ankle injury that Benny Feilhaber suffered in a Aarhus friendly, doctors have now found that the once believed sprain is actually in fact cartilage damage.  Feilhaber will rest for 10 days and then be re-evaluated, but this means that he is unlikely to be fully healthy by the time the USMNT's March 3 friendly against the Netherlands rolls around.  

  
While the injury does not seem to be a serious threat to Feilhaber's availability for the World Cup, it could cause a roster issue for Bob Bradley for the aforementioned friendly.  With Maurice Edu and Ricardo Clark both on the mend, there is an outside chance that neither is fit for 90 minutes, which would necessitate a substitution or lead to a different player getting the start altogether.  This could mean sliding Stuart Holden central or starting Jose Francisco Torres with Michael Bradley in the middle.  The big wildcard in all of this is how quickly Clark and Edu can get back on the field for their respective clubs.  If Rico is fit enough, he'll get the start; if not, well, I'm not sure.  In the end, though, I expect the former Dynamo star to be ready to go come March 3, making much of what I just said moot.

English Championship Updates

Watford's match against QPR has been postponed, so no Jay DeMerit today.  Elsewhere, Kenny Cooper came on as a substitute for Plymouth Argyle in the 61st minute of their match against Swansea City.  He was unable to get any shots off in his time on the field, though his team did level the score late to secure a 1-1 draw. 

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That's it for now, keep an eye out for another post coming later this evening (most likely geared towards the international game beyond the USMNT, since I haven't done one of those in a bit).